In the past year, 7 in 10 Coloradans either missed out on health care, were uninsured or struggled to pay medical bills due to high medical costs, according to a Colorado Consumer Health Initiative survey. (AP file)
More than two-thirds of Colorado adults delayed or forgot to get health care in the past year because it was too expensive, according to a recent survey by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.
In total, seven in 10 people in Colorado are without access to care, uninsured or struggling to pay high medical bills, despite Colorado’s efforts to enact policies that promote health care transparency and savings.
“We continue to hear from consumers that this problem isn’t going away and that more needs to be done,” CCHI Deputy Director Adam Fox said at a press conference on August 5.
CCHI is a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of consumers for improved access to health care.
The survey was part of Healthcare Value Hub’s Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey and was conducted online among more than 1,400 adults from March 26 to April 12. Researchers said Colorado’s results are similar to those of surveys in other states.
The most common types of care overlooked included missing doctor’s appointments, neglecting dental care, cutting medications in half or skipping doses, and not getting recommended tests or treatments.
The highest rates of delayed care and associated concerns about medical costs are among Hispanic Coloradans and those earning less than $75,000 a year. The rates are also highest in the Denver metro area, with similar trends seen in eastern and western Colorado.
“The reality is that health care costs continue to go up,” Fox said, “and we’ve seen costs rise in other areas as well — cost of living, cost of housing, cost of food — and it’s really forcing people to make tough decisions, so the issue of affordability is even more prevalent in people’s minds.”
One respondent told researchers she couldn’t afford HIV prevention treatment after being assaulted. Another said she needed multiple dental fillings replaced, but her insurance only covered one. Another said she’s putting off medical testing because she’s worried about the cost of treatment if she tests positive. One respondent with Health First Colorado wrote that she’s “avoiding health care in general” because of unexpected costs.
The Colorado Legislature has passed a number of health care cost transparency and savings measures in recent years, including a 2023 law requiring hospitals to post Medicare rates on their websites and another that limits when hospitals can charge facility fees.
The survey found bipartisan support for several transparency policies, including requiring drug companies to notify and justify price increases, requiring the government to show fair prices for treatments, and imposing price caps on certain life-saving drugs.
“We’ve done a lot of work at the state level to implement a variety of reforms,” Fox said. “The election will determine what we can accomplish at the state and federal levels, and that will shape our policy priorities.”
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